Academy’S Gumiho Is A Magical Genius [EN]: Chapter 31

Academy Gumiho is a Magical Genius – Episode 31

Academy Gumiho is a Magical Genius 31

Solitude (1)

Solitude (蠱毒) [a Chinese term referring to a type of poison created through a ritualistic process].

It is a term referring to a type of poison.

Solitude is created by confining venomous creatures such as vipers, centipedes, toads, wasps, and turtles in a large jar. The jar contains no food, moisture, or light.

Only a jar filled with complete darkness.

The creatures trapped there sustain themselves by devouring each other. The strong eat the weak, and the strong die futilely from the poison of the weak.

Such a desperate struggle for survival does not end until only one remains.

The creature that survives to the end is called a ‘Gu’.

And the cursed poison obtained by killing the last surviving Gu, completely crushing its hope for life, is named Solitude.

‘I need to nurture the Gu as quickly as possible.’

The way to clear Effnel’s Flower Garden is to utilize Solitude.

To be precise, it’s not about using Solitude, but applying the principle of Solitude to this ecosystem.

“Teacher, isn’t it too dark? I wish we could turn on a light.”

“No. Creatures that live in caves are terrified of light.”

The deeper we stepped into the dark cave, the fainter the light became.

The speed at which the surroundings were enveloped in darkness was faster than the speed at which my eyes adapted to the darkness. Leeji was even touching the damp walls as she moved.

“Don’t be scared and keep up,” I said.

“No! How can I possibly go fast in this darkness?!”

“Stop complaining and follow me.”

Darkness stimulates humanity’s primal fears.

This is evidenced by the fear of what might be under the bed when lying alone in bed as a child.

Moreover, as humans age and gain more experience, they learn how dangerous darkness can be. They might trip over obstacles on the floor or be struck by a blind blade.

For these and many other reasons, humans fear darkness.

However, there are occasionally creatures that live only in such darkness.

To catch them, you have to adapt to them.

“T-Teacher, how much further do we have to go?”

“We’re almost there.”

“You’ve been saying that for a while now! How much deeper do we have to walk?”

I ignored Leeji’s words and looked around.

Thick darkness obscured my vision, but amethyst-like shining magic eyes illuminated the cave. A monochrome world was revealed, and blue magic became visible to the eye.

Focusing all my senses, I scanned up and down.

All around, filled with shades of gray.

That’s why the blue color was especially visible.

Stones scattered throughout the cave.

Faintly, magic was gathered inside them.

It was a sign of a living creature. It was so small that I almost missed it.

“Found it.”

“Really? I want to see too.”

“It’s dark; you won’t be able to see it.”

“Ah, that’s right.”

I reached out and searched through the cracks in the stones.

It’s full of large and small stones, so you might wonder what kind of creature lives here.

Squish, a sensation like touching meat fat.

An abnormal feeling for being in the cracks of stones was transmitted to my fingertips.

When I lifted it with my fingers, it let out a powerful cry.

This is Gu.

Peeeeeeeeek!

A grotesque sound like fingernails scratching a chalkboard.

Since the sound echoed loudly in the cave, the effect was tremendous.

“Ugh! What’s that awful noise!”

“……This is a bit much.”

Leeji covered her ears with both hands.

I was holding the creature in my hand, so I manipulated magic to create earmuffs.

Nevertheless, the creature’s cry was vividly transmitted.

Peeeeeeeeeeek!!!

A louder cry than before.

It sounds like it’s protesting to be put down quickly, but I can’t do that.

“Do something quickly! I’m going to get hearing loss!”

“Let’s run towards the entrance. There’s no other way.”

“No, do I have to keep listening to this sound until then?!”

“Stop talking and run! You would have taken ten more steps in the time you said that.”

Leeji and I ran at full speed.

It was a dark cave, but we were returning the way we came, so we didn’t get lost.

Still, it took some time to go up because we had come down so deep.

In the meantime, I ignored the screaming Gu and thought.

What should I feed it first?

‘Should I try feeding it grass first?’

My gaze turned to the ceiling and the floor.

The shadows prevalent in the dark cave came into view.

And the amethyst eyes pierced through the gaps.

Three adult men.

Well, I should slowly feed it herbivores first.

It’s too early to awaken the Gu to the taste of blood and flesh.

* * *

Peeeeeeeeek!

The Gu screamed as it escaped the dark cave.

The dazzling sunlight seemed painful.

I put the Gu in a shady place and said.

“Hey, you. Get some sunlight. You’re not a vampire; why do you avoid sunlight so much?”

“Doesn’t it feel similar to a mole?”

“Does that look like a mole to you?”

“No way.”

The Gu, which had settled in the shady grass, showed interest in the grass beneath it.

The Gu immediately lunged at its mouth.

The creature devoured the grass on the ground as if sucking it up.

It quickly grew from the size of a handful to the size of a small dog.

A bizarre characteristic that ordinary creatures cannot imitate.

Its appearance is similar to a centipede.

It is truly the behavior of a demon.

‘To think that looks similar to a mole.’

If Leeji had sincerely asked if it looked similar, I would have decided to send her to an ophthalmologist.

In the meantime, the Gu, which had eaten all the grass in the area, changed its prey from grass to flowers. It seems that it developed a taste for plants after eating grass.

All the grass here is poisonous.

The Gu swallowed flowers indiscriminately.

It ate not only the thorny poisonous flowers but also the expensive Wolru flowers and flames [likely magical or rare flowers].

“Hey! Do you even know how expensive that is?!”

“Don’t say weird things to animals, just stay still.”

“Teacher! If we sold that just now, we could have made 20 million won [approximately $15,000 USD] in cash!”

“Think of it as an investment. It will come back as something more valuable soon.”

Just wait a little, and we can get something worth more than 20 million won.

Just then, the Gu, which had been recklessly swallowing grass and flowers, suddenly stopped moving.

It groaned as if it was in pain somewhere in its body.

The poison from the flames and the Wolru flowers met and created a synergy.

If ordinary creatures ate those two at the same time, they would be poisoned and suffer severe internal injuries. Their liver and other internal organs would be soaked in poison.

A toxicity so strong that it would kill you quickly if you didn’t have resistance.

Red and blue blood vessels rose on the Gu’s skin.

The skin began to necrotize from the poisoning.

“It looks like it’s going to die soon……”

“Just watch.”

Leeji made a fuss as she watched the Gu die.

I didn’t feel any pity for the demon being poisoned to death. But if this is the case, there is no point in entering the cave.

That’s what she must be thinking.

But that thought won’t last long.

Because the Gu, which had fallen as if dead, soon jumped up.

Waggle waggle, as soon as it got up, the Gu ate the remaining flowers.

It seemed to have forgotten that it had collapsed from eating recklessly just a moment ago, and it devoured all the plants in sight. Before I knew it, the Gu had grown to the size of a person.

“……Ah, is it still getting bigger?”

“It’s not even halfway there yet.”

Now the Gu didn’t just eat plants.

It swallowed small demons that came into its sight.

In the process, it looked at me and Leeji.

What are you looking at?

Whoosh, when I created flames in my right hand, it immediately curled its tail and turned its head elsewhere. The direction the Gu was looking at was the deep part of the forest.

Where high-ranking demons with intelligence live.

The Gu moved, dragging its human-sized body.

The fleshy appearance was dyed green as it swallowed various plants.

The same camouflage color as the surrounding environment.

Because of that, the orcs living nearby couldn’t find the Gu.

“Squeak, another human has entered the garden.”

“Avoid. If we do wrong, we die!”

“Die!”

Orcs talking in clumsy language.

They discovered players carrying baskets and collecting flowers and grass below and spread this fact widely.

The language system is clumsy, but it is enough to pass on knowledge to future generations and divide each other’s actions.

The orcs moved in different directions to inform their companions that humans had invaded the dungeon.

Without realizing that a greater danger was coming.

Kugugugu!

The ground trembled slightly.

The tremor was so slight that most orcs didn’t notice.

That a demon camouflaged was approaching their rear.

─Kwagwawa.

The earth vibrated, and the ground was overturned.

The epicenter of the vibration was the center of the orc village.

Kwaang!

A centipede shaking the ground.

No, something that couldn’t even be identified as a centipede opened its mouth and swallowed two orcs at the same time.

It must be at least 5 meters.

As it swallowed its own kind with its huge body, the demons looked up at the Gu with surprised eyes. Leeji and I, who were hiding in the nearby trees, also looked at it.

It was definitely about the size of an adult male just a moment ago.

But before going to the orc village, it devoured small demons, land, and plants indiscriminately.

It became such a huge size.

No, it was still growing.

“Mo, monster!”

“Run away! We will stop it!”

The orcs were armed with weapons made by carving demon bones or stones.

The cutting power is insufficient, but with their powerful muscles, they boast power comparable to blunt weapons.

They rushed towards the Gu.

They couldn’t leave the guy who invaded their village and ate their own kind alive. However, the orcs’ attacks did not work.

The weapons made of ribs were broken in vain, and the weapons made of carved stones did not even scratch the huge body.

At least one orc reacted momentarily to the torch he threw.

Kwagwawa!

Whether it stimulated the Gu’s temper, it shook its huge body greatly, using its huge body as a weapon.

The orcs were swept away like fallen leaves.

Their internal organs and bones were broken, and they died.

The Gu not only absorbed the dead bodies but also swallowed the surrounding trees and soil.

Before I knew it, the size was close to 10 meters.

Really, it’s getting so big.

“Teacher, is it okay to leave that alone like that……?”

“Why.”

“It’s not ‘why’! If it keeps eating like that and gets bigger, it might become a high-ranking demon!”

“Isn’t that what we’re waiting for?”

“What?”

Leeji looked at me with an unbelievable expression.

“I told you. I came here to clear this dungeon.”

This is how you clear it here.

As if to prove my words, a message popped up.

[The hidden boss monster ‘Gu’ has devoured 50% of the dungeon.]

[You have obtained information about ‘Gudok (蠱毒) [a type of venomous poison or curse in Chinese folklore]’ according to the high progress rate.]

[You have acquired a method to clear the dungeon ‘Efnell’s Garden’!]

[Sub Quest: Gudok Hunt]

[Description: Gu (蠱) is the last living creature in this ecosystem. Unless he dies, the ‘Garden’ will regenerate continuously. However, in order to kill the Gu, you must induce the Gu to completely destroy the ecosystem.

You realized that fact. If you want the end of the garden, induce the Gu to completely devour the ecosystem and hunt him down.

[Success: 1. Skill ‘Ten Poisons Immunity (十毒不侵) [immunity to all kinds of poison]’, 2. Knowledge about Gudok, Points +3]

See, I was right, right?

I pointed to the air as if to show off.

But Leeji’s reaction was different from what I expected.

“……What are you doing now?”

An expression that she couldn’t see at all.

I was about to ask if she couldn’t see this message when I suddenly remembered.

It was only me who made Gu eat this dungeon.

She wouldn’t be able to see this.

I was just doing useless things alone.